Asia Morning Read: China’s Property Price Falls In August

By Shuli Ren

Data from 42 large cities monitored by China Confidential, a research service at the Financial Times, shows a 20 per cent year on year decrease in home sales in the first 17 days of August. Unsold inventory in 14 large cities jumped by 48 per cent year on year in the same period, the data shows.

Developers also have little choice but to heap even more supply in a bloated market due to regulations that stop them from sitting on undeveloped land. Those that fail to break ground on new projects a year after purchasing land will face fines, while those that wait more than two years could have their land confiscated.

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Barrons.com’s Asia Stocks to Watch blog analyses news and research from this vibrant and diverse continent, challenges conventional wisdom, and discusses investment ideas from Shanghai to Singapore, and from Indonesia to India.

Shuli Ren has written for Dow Jones Newswires on corporate strategies and Asia markets. Before becoming a journalist, Shuli conducted quantitative equity research at Lehman Brothers, and later Barclays Capital. She was also a consultant for Charles River Associates. She holds a CFA and FRM and studied economics at the University of Chicago’s graduate school.